originally was. >> i will not take your rifle away. i will not take your handgun away. >> americans, obviously, feel like your life is threatened. charles: second amendment up for grabs? >> it is up for grabs. people feel threatened. charles: it is hard to argue with that. i know someone who may agree or disagree. here they are, dagen and connell. connell: happy to be here. the team is back together. dagen: charles, you want to coanchor with me for the next hour? thank you. i am dagen mcdowell. connell: and i am connell

mcshane. dagen: corporations taking a hit from the flu. forty-one states reporting widespread cases and that is keeping people home from work. connell: disney wants to help you keep track of your kids at the park's. dagen: brad pitt with a big announcement for the people of china. hockey is back. give me a hand. connell: happy birthday to dagen mcdowell today. before we get too emotional, let's go to nicole petallides. nicole: happy birthday. i hope you have a great year ahead, dagen. the dow jones industrials is about down 50 points right now. while the moves were not dramatic, they were down arrows.

we saw the vix taking a breather, but today it is back again. i wanted to take a look at bank of america. this, too, has gone back and forth. it hit a 42 week high. this on some settlements with fannie mae. you can see here that stock right now is down about seven cents. ultimately, people perceive it as good news to get it out of the way. connell: it looks like president obama is really gearing up for a fight with republicans. dagen: rich edson joins us now from washington, d.c. with what the holdup would be. rich: president obama will nominate former republican senator from nebraska chuck hagel to lead the department at the pentagon.

a number of republicans have had issues with hagel. he has reportedly erected talks with hamas, some say he is not pro- israel enough. it has a number of republicans lined up against him in opposition. >> he has long severed ties with the republican party. this is an in-your-face nomination by the president. i do not know what is management experience is regarding the pentagon. i think it is an incredibly controversial choice. rich: this sets up a big fight in the u.s. senate. this at a time when those automatic defense cuts have been delayed for two months and that

fiscal cliff deal. there are major questions in washington on defense spending going forward. this is a pretty timely opponent or appointment for the president when you consider all that is going on with not only the federal budget, but the defense budget. connell: thank you, rich edson. dagen: let's bring in matt welch. how do these nominations play into, again, the defense cuts that are on tap and other cuts that are on hand? >> first of all, happy birthday. congratulations on being able to drink. [ laughter ] dagen: you are welcome back every day. >> it will be on march 1 or february 28 right now. the president needs someone on his own site who has been thinking about cutting military

spending right now. he would get tossed out in a second. he is a republican so the president is exposing rifts within the republican position. we do actually need to cut military spending. connell: you think he will still get through the senate. >> that is the question. connell: i think a lot of the republicans that we are done talking about taxes after the last cliff. nancy pelosi said this. >> you know, the president had said he wanted $1.6 trillion in

revenue. he took it down to 1.2 as a compromise. it is not enough on the revenue side. connell: if you thought tax hikes were off the table, forget about it. >> there on the campaign on something like this. you can expect to be part of the conversation. the question for me is, are republicans actually going to talk about spending cuts in actuality rather than in theories? dagen: they wanted to simplify the tax code and go to lower rates and make it something more sensible. if you look at what was done with this compromise, you have a

tax code that is even that more complicated. it was a total handout to the accountants. you have a separate income tax rate on capital gains. it is a nightmare. it will only get worse from here >> there were 50 tax extenders. he can build a privately. that is how we govern now. that contributes. i do not think -- i think tax reform is off the table probably for another couple of years. connell: we will have the same

discussion that we had last time. the republicans are back in charge next time, i did not know if that is true. >> we have a cliff coming up on march 1 and the milk cliff comes back up on september 1. it is no longer the rose parade anymore. it is a holiday for ms. governments. it is a series of artificial deadlines. this is the new reality. dagen: stop delegating and lead from the front. that is what scott locke says president obama needs to do.

you manage money for a living and how does that factor in to what you buy or sell right now, scott? >> we are all about buying good businesses. the dysfunction in the congress and presidency i think we'll keep a lid on stocks. it will be great if we got some clarification on where we will go with the debt ceiling. it does not bode well for stocks taking off. the other concern i really have is bottoming of estimates, it is far too euphoric. if we went back a year ago, you at the north of 110. we came in under $99. you really only have about 3.5- 3.5-4% gdp growth. it does not bode well.

when people build and high expectations and there is disappointment, it is not good for stocks in general. dagen: you have a market that is slightly down. if stocks tumble or falter, do you think interest rates will go lower which will thereby make longer-term treasuries a haven in the short run. >> the federal debt is over 16 million. nobody in their right mind should lend the government thirty-year money. the other point i would also make is that the consumer is pretty much tapped out. even with the 2% increase.

people are losing out to inflation and gdp. consumer installment that have skyrocketed it really does not hold well for the consumer and growth in the economy. dagen: thank you for that. scott, thank you. it was great to see you, as always. >> thank you. happy birthday, dagen. dagen: thank you. connell: the big story that is

developing here is the flu. the flu has been crushing businesses across the nation. so many people are forced to stay home. dagen: disney's idea to track your child. is this really something you want and disney's hands? first, take a look at the oil market today. oil is at $93 a barrel. ♪ [ woman ] if you have the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda.

[ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. face time and think time make a difference. at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing. maybe you want to incorporate a business. orrotect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd le the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available in most states with every personalized document to answer questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

connell: let's go backkto nicole. talking about apple. nicole: keeping a close eye on apple. we know this dog is quite volatile. right now, it is virtually flat. the news today is about downloads for laughs. they are talking about 40 billion downloads. about half of those being in 2012. a lot of the downloads are in 2012. it is not old news, it is new news. it is becoming extremely popular

and growing and popularity. dagen: workplace productivity down, blame the flu. twenty-nine states in new york city reporting high levels of flu activity. forty-one states are reporting cases already. if you think that flu shot you got will protect you, think again. we have a doctor from atlanta joining us now. how bad, so far, is this outbreak of the flu? >> we are not sure about how this season will be. we will not know until the end of the season. what we do know is it is a very early start to the season. there is a lot of flu activity out there. people need to take steps to

take care of themselves. dagen: how severe is the strain of the flu. >> the flu shot is the best way to protect people against getting the flu. we will not know until the end of the season how bad of a season it is. i here for my friends and family that people are coming down with pneumonia like they have not before. are there things you can do to keep the infection from getting worse? >> absolutely. probably the most important thing to prevent complications from the flu is to see your doctor and talk about getting treatment with influenza

antiviral medication. dagen: is it too late to get a flu shot at this point? >> it is absolutely not too late to get the flu vaccine. we recommend that you get your vaccination right now if you can. we do not know how effective this year's vaccine is. we should have some estimates on how effective it is in the next month or so. dagen: i often hear about people say that the flu vaccine makes them sick. is there any truth to that? >> there is no truth to that statement. people do get sick after getting the vaccine. part of the reason is, they do not get the vaccine early enough. it takes time for the vaccine to

go into effect. the flu vaccine only protects against the flu. people can get sick with other things also. dagen: if you have employees who do have the flu, do not go to work. >> absolutely. we recommend to protect the rest of us who have not been sick, that people stay home and stay away from work and school. dagen: doctor, thank you very much. doctor young, be well. connell: brad pitt is online in china. dagen: we care so much about what brad pitt thinks about the world. how you feel about the future of our country. half of the polls say that the u.s.'s best years are behind us. ♪

>> i am worn green with your fox news minute. the shell oil rig stranded for a

week off the coast of alaska. the rig is being towed at about 4 miles an hour to the alaskan coast where crews can determine if there is any damage. there is no evidence that the oil had leaked into the ocean. violence in syria. he will not step down. a 21 month conflict that has caused more than 60,000 lives. the pope is calling for urgent aid for civilians in syria. continued conflict will leave nothing but a field of wounds. those are your headlines. connell: lauren, thank you.

airlines are doing great when it comes to safety. the safest year for the airlines since 1945. the world airlines overall reported only 23 accidents and 75 fatalities last year. the group credits that applied to safety guidelines. disneyland wanting to use wristbands. it will announce when it is your turn to take a ride on space following are whatever ride it is. dagen: we are all about cinderella. connell: i don't like her. she was a little rude. dagen: who are you hanging out

at disney world with. connell: brad pit joined twitter. actually, the chinese version. it is the truth, yup. i am coming. brad pitt. dagen: is it really him, though? do we really know what that that is one thing we agree on, we both really do not care. welcoming ad dollars for this year's inauguration. connell: the future of america, is it all downhill from here. first, some of the winners today on the s&p 500. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work.

and his new boss told him twongs -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll wk his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and me from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, nd he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

>> announcer: you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn your life upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock to relentlessly protect what matters most... [beeping...] helping stop crooks before your identity is attacked. and now you can have the most comprehensive identity theft protection available today... lifelock ultimate. so for protection you just can't get anywhere else, get lifelock ultimate. identity theft wasow serious until i lost my credit and eventually i lost my home. >> announcer: credit monitoring

is not enough, because it tells as much as 30 days later.imes with lifelock, as soon as our network spots a threat to your identity, you'll get a proactive risklert, protecting you before you become a victim. >> identity theft was a huge, huge problem for me and it's gone away because of lifelock. >> announcer: while no one can stop all identity theft, if criminals do steal your information, lifelock will help fix it, with our $1 million service guarantee. don't wait until you become the next victim. you have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock now to get two full months of identity theft protection risk free. that's right, 60 days risk-free. use promo code: gethelp. if you're not completely satisfied, notify lifelock and you won't pay a cent. der now and also get this shredder to keep your documents out of the wrong hands-- a $29 dollar value, free. t protected now. call the number on your screen or go to lifelock.com to try lifelock protection risk free for a full 60 days.

use promo code: gethelp. plus get this document shredder free-- but only if you act right now. call the number on your screen now! dagen: feeling good about your country? gallup says half of you are not. as we look at tonight's big college football matchup, the real money behind these fake town football programs. the most valuable team. we will shock you. connell: fake news on netflix. nicole: that is right. this gives them access to some of the serial drama with time

warner brothers. they have been exploring, obviously. they recently did a license agreement with disney. there is intense competition. even intel is trying to get into streaming video now. red arrows all day long. we have seen a majority of the names lower today. coca-cola, exxon, cisco, disney, all with down arrows. last week, we saw a taking a breather. that we will have earnings season. we made it through the fiscal cliff disaster. i can tell you, i am hearing a lot of people who are finally looking at their paychecks and realizing they are down to money this last week and they are not happy about it. dagen: nicole, thank you.

it is a pretty cool. they get mentioned about the football game later on. 49% still believe that the best is yet to come. let's bring in robert stephen kaplan in. what do you make of this? >> it is not surprising. we are in a period where we are going through a massive deleveraging in our country. businesses on the bright side are doing well. we do not see any improvement on the balance sheet. i think it is scary to people. they know how to tighten their belts. they want to see the government

do what they need to do. that should be encouraging to the population. connell: so far we obviously have not seen that. these are long-term issues that you talk about. how much of this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for people with the fundamentals in statistics may be okay. >> here is the economic problem, we are reducing that the so-called deleveraging puts a drag on gmp growth. puts a drag on people's earnings. we have to go through another five or eight years of getting our deck ground so that we can grow again. i think people in the country are willing to do it, but we have to get started.

this is a long-term problem. i think the country is mentally prepared for it. they now want to see the government act. connell: is there something that you can see on the horizon that drives the government to act? our view here has been that the market will somehow force them to cooperate. when do they act, is it because they have to? >> you mentioned no labels. i think we feel optimistic. we have a president that is about to be inaugurated in his second term. he should not be worried about his legacy. i think there is no place to hide on this. they have to do entitlement reform and they have to address

these issues. listen, it depends on what we do. we know what the problems are. we know what the solutions are. we know what needs to be done and now it is time to do it. the president will have to really step up to this and it cannot be a fight, a political fight, all while political battle after another. i would love to see the president step up and articulate a clear vision for restructuring our entitlements. connell: we will believe it will obviously, when we see it. thank you for coming on today. we appreciate it. dagen: we are two weeks away from president obama's inauguration. it looks like some of the thrill from four years ago is gone. connell: expecting to draw smaller crowds this year. adam shapiro has this story.

>> i do not meet your contributions to the committee yet? no corporate donations. this time around, bring on the corporate donations. it is roughly 12 companies so far. just 12 have come up to the full. they are listed on a list of donors that the inauguration committee put out on friday. what is interesting about this list is it is only a list of names. in 2009, the list included names of people who donated. there were no corporations. there is no crap this time around. it also showed where you worked. this time around, no, not happening. this is a problem for our people

and government watchdogs. they asked why this lack of transparency by the administration may be troubling. they said they are always disappointed when organizations moveetowards less disclosure. fox business has contacted inauguration committee to see if they will tell us how much at&t, microsoft, how many of these companies have donated since there is no cap on how much they can donate. we also called microsoft and at&t to see if they would tell us how much they donated and why they chose to do it. that is where we stand on all of this. dagen: thank you, adam. adam shapiro. connell: big nominations today. they could still be charged with our nation's security. we will soon find out what mike baker thinks about that.

dagen: the two teams playing in tonight's games are in the top ten. are they at the very top of the list? stay with us to find out. connell: the price of corn. it does not get any higher here in the u.s. jeff: the most expensive corn in the world. these may be filled, but we are starting to import foreign war because our corn starts too much.

>> i have your fox business brief. amazon shares are boosting.

morgan stanley sites amazons international opportunities for the upgrade and price target. sewing on news it has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement. a deal worth $1.1 billion. energy capital plans to operate as a stand-alone business operation with the current management team remaining in place. global spending on electronic will rise this year. , and smart phones will account for 40% of all of that spending. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper. the local we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money?

if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. nothing. are you stealing our daughter'school supplies and taking them to work? no, was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office. connell: president obama expected to nominate chuck hagel to be the next defense secretary.

shaping up to be quite a fight in congress. we have mike baker with us now. always good to have you, mike. the other announcement today will be that john brennan be nominated to run the cia. what you know about brennan? >> well, you know, it is interesting. it is all hagel all the time. it is as close as you get in washington, d.c. to a safe bet. john brennan a lot of experience within the cia. he has developed a very good relationship with obama and the white house over the past few years. in a sense, they are choosing the safe road because i think they understand they are in for a bit of a battle with hagel. connell: they may have nominated brennan in the fast. the technique came up and they

did not want to go through it. apparently, now they are okay going through it. >> i think in a sense it is a passage of time. i think they probably would have gotten the nod before. you have this bizarre story that is been brought up as a result of the release of that film. it is a bit of a name issue. connell: what did you think of the movie? >> it is good entertainment. hollywood does what hollywood does. they make some choices. they have strong leads.

it is good entertainment. that part of it is that the senators seem to be mistaking entertainment for reality. what this film is depicting as it does not match our perception. connell: it does show people in your business do a lot of hard work. quick thought on hagel. >> this is the one that will cause some trouble. it is strange. for me it is an odd choice. running the department of defense is nothing -- as far as i can tell, maybe i am wrong here, i do not see any management experience in hagel's background.

ultimately, i think you will get through. it is strange. i believe they understand there will be a battle. i think they probably have other candidates that would have chosen who have been a better fit. connell: always good to talk with you. mike baker. thank you. i do not know where the studio is. dagen: we don't ask. we do not want to know where mike is. it is a quarter till the hour. stocks now and every 15 minutes. nicole: we have seen the vix to the upside. now we are kicking off earnings season. we have been trying to hit every 15 minutes. let's take a look at the names. solar city has been in the news

today. dramatic move up 13%. all the analysts here at solar city. positive comments. the other three names that all have down arrow, yahoo!, lowe's and under armour. the price target, they raised. they cut them, they still raised the price target. under armour has gained in popularity. we had that one a lot last week. today, oregon family downgraded to an overweight. sometimes you just think the stocks went too far. it is pretty weak today.

the dow jones industrials are now down 72 points. dagen: thank you. connell: the world most expensive corn is right here in the united states. dagen: jeff flock is live in illinois with more. jeff: the cheaper corn is out there. they beat the best thing i do is show you a corn chart. take a look, first of all, these are big grain elevators. karen is here with maple farms. you have bands that are pretty full right now. >> yes. we still have grain in them. jeff: take a look at where prices were last year at about this time. about two dollars below where they are now. why are these prices still so high? >> we have the looming out there that there will be another

drought. we do not have any rain. so far we have a little bit, but not enough to make up for last summer's drought. jeff: there is not much in the way of snow cover out here. as part of the fiscal cliff compromise, also, there was a new tax break for ethanol producers. some people question, what the heck is that doing in there? corn producers out here like that, obviously. it is more of a market for their corn. >> that is right. jeff: corn is so high that actually some poultry producers in georgia are beginning to import brazilian born and, in fact, we will have record imports of corn even though this country is the world largest grain exporter.

karen butcher, thank you. i leave you with a shot of a corn dryer. it is cold out here. connell: good looking stuff. thank you, jeff. dagen: i was going to say something about you admiring silos, but i will just move along. connell: you are lucky it is your birthday. [ laughter ] dagen: i get a free pass. the most valuable college football programs in the country. at least one rivals the value of an nfl team. we will tell you about the tops and do not. connell: first, some winners on the nasdaq today. we will be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters?

maybe you want to incorporate a business. orrotect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd likthe help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available

in most states with ever personalized document to answer questions. get started at galzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

connell: notre dame goes into the championship game tonight ranked number one in the nation. they are not at the top when it comes to value. texas longhorns topped the list. $761 million in value. this was put together by a professor in indiana. they point to the sale of the jacksonville jaguars. the team sold for 760 billion. texas is "worried that." alabama makes the list ranked

number eight in value. dagen: michigan moved into the second place spot with a valuation. connell: they actually return a profit as an athletic program which is surprising to a lot of people. sandra: looking at alcoa. this will be a big test of the financials. they are supposed to have very strong financial reports. texas industries this week, as well as, apollo group. you will notice that alcoa, this

is the big one, it usually kicks off earnings week. it tends to be the top. it makes everything. it is down 8%. alcoa shares, over the past years, flat. literally flat. they are up about 6%. right now, just a quick update, analysts are expecting earnings of 6% a share. that would be a drop in revenue. a big improvement in earnings for alcoa. by the way, monsanto, ruby tuesday, supervalu, these are all the earnings that we are gearing up for this week. we will have more to look at in the next hour. connell: notre dame or alabama? sandra: i am rooting for alabama

connell: i didn't know people rooted for alabama. dagen: i keep seeing this live poster on facebook and twitter. it is catholics versus cousins. connell: that is funny. dagen: i am a redneck. connell: obamacare gone to the dogs, apparently. dagen: coming up in the next hour, cheryl casone unlike your pet next visit to the vet will cost you more money. ♪

>> coming up on noon eastern time, markets now. i'm cheryl casone. looks like president obama is about to pick another fight with congress. this time it is over two controversial nominees to his cabinet. the president is set less than on hour to no , nominate both. we have a live report from

washington and how that hits your defense stocks. workplace productivity is down, and you can blame the flu. an early outbreak sweeping the country today ahead, why that flu shot you got may not help you or more company. if your health care costs are going up, wait until you hear how much obama care adds to the price of your pets. next visit to the vet. it's true. top of the hour right now. stocks now every 15 minutes, annie coal -- and nicole is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. bank stocks? >> trying to get over the fact i should have taken my dog to the vet a few weeks ago before 2012. all right, fine. major market averages, right now, accelerated selling, hovering around session lows. the market has been somewhat weak today. we do have the vix, the fear index down. dow is selling off 82 appointments. s&p 500 down half of 1%.

there was records as far as the major market averages on the heals that the cliff was averted, but there's selling across the board. however, look at the banks. some of the banks are hitting some 52-week highs, and in some cases it's because of the news we're seeing. obviously, bank of america pulling back some, but they did hit new highs today. bank of america, they had a fannie mae settlement, something we waited for. citi group, change of management and an upgrate. barclay's has a 3% gain. cheryl: thank you very much. the next guest says while the markets and economy chug along, big risks remain out there. upper management director jim awad on set. happy new year, jim. >> to you also. cheryl: you're concerned about the eeonomies because of what you see from washington. why? >> yeah, if the economy was left to its own devices, it would do

reasonably well, but the people 234 washington continue to put a gone to the economy's head periodically, and you'll have serious debates and show downs at the end of february and march, and i think that's going to spook investors, businesses, and capital spending and consumers between now and then because everybody knows we have a whole bunch of uncertainty facing us again. we just finished one and will roll into another. the economy, in and of itself is fine, but washington's not helping. cheryl: 2% gdp growth. are you happy p 2% growth? that's the average predicted for 2013. >> right. well, what you see is what you get given where we are with the fiscal head winds we have and still the overhang the last recession and world wide debt. i deally, it should be, at this stage, about twice what we're growing now. you really need 4% to reignite the economy. cheryl: jim, that's the question. the markets potentially could have been ahead of themselveses.

relief rally, nonetheless, nice to see, but a 2% growth rate for the economy for this year after the last five years seems a little negative to me. >> it's not great. the case for equities is that there's no powerful investing alternative, which is what the fed's trying to do, trying to take all other al dearntives away with zero rates on cash and bonds so people have assumptions, pension funds have to make a certain amount of money so feds chase them into risk assets and markets get ahead of the reality on the ground, perhaps right now, because it's up so much over the last several weeks, but basically, if there's not a big dislocation, stocks remain -- they have to be part of the game plan, especially those with dividends in a zero interest rate environment. cheryl: forget bonds and other alternative investments, stocks really are the only option at this point? >> well, it's got to be a part

of the portfolio. cheryl: a bigger piece? >> yeah, a bigger piece. have some cash with scares and shocks along the way. at some point, if the economy does continue to grow, people worry about when is the fed going to take the punch bowl away, and that worries people. you have a risk of something happening in europe, the middle east is a mess, and so there's a lot of reasons to have a little bit of cash, but if you have a return, an absolute return in the environment, large cap multinationals have to be a part of it. cheryl: thank you very much. good to see you. >> thank you. cheryl: well, the next fight between congress and president obama will be over two controversial cabinet selections coming down in an hour from now. rich edson joining me from inside the beltway with the latest on the two picks from the president. rich? >> well, cheryl, the headline here, according to white house officials, senator chuck hagel, the former republican senator from nebraska, and the pick to lead the pentagon, and also the white house counterterrorism adviser john brennan to take

over at the cia. republicans have issues with ahgel, departures made with the republican party when it comes to national security calling for direct talks with hamas, many republicans charge him as not being pro-israel enough. he did not support the iraq troops surge under president george w. bush's administration and defined the defense budget as bloated. that's the next fight in washington, military spending. >> the thing i love about chuck is that he will take on the legal corruption, the bloat, in the defense industry. he's going to be an advocate for the troops and the taxpayer against the wild bloat in the defense budget where we can make cuts. >> if confirm by the senate, he will have to deal with the sequester. that's right. the automatic spending cuts scheduled to hit the pentagon, some $500 billion over the next decade. that was put off on the budget deal by a couple months.

that's upcoming again in washington. back to you. cheryl: rich edson, thank you very much for the live report from there. president obama has a tough battle on his hands with congress over the two cabinet nominees. unanswered questions about increasing the budget linger. greg, good to see you again. in particular, focus on -- former republican senator, military veteran, vietnam veteran, highly decorated, but is he the right choice to deal with the budget of the pentagon? >> well, he's got a lot of pluses, cheryl, but he has a lot of minuses also. he, i think, is really suspected among most republicans who view him as a traitor to the cause, among a lot of jewish democrats, there's anxiety. you know, he speaks his mind. he's a maverick who speaks his mind. we have one of those already, joe biden. there's two top officials

potentially in this administration who you have to wake up in the morning and wonder if there's a new gaffe to worry about. cheryl: couple things we saw once the cliff agreement came into play. as you saw, the defense sector got a boost, but the biggest defense contractor out there, that is lockheed martin, and that stock did not perform like the rest of the group. are you concerned that if he is, indeed, named secretary of the defense, that this budget cutting stance that he -- we're thinking he'll have at this point is going to really take a bigger hit to the companies than they are prepared to take? >> hard to say on that. i don't think he's going to be that much more aggressive than leon panetta, but i do say this. i think the threat of sequester is real. we have about seven weeks to fix this or we have an automatic se quser. i tell you, everywhere i look, the chances are dimmer and dimmer that we get a deal on the debt ceiling, on sequester, on the continuing resolution. there's a real crisis coming in

about seven or eight week, and i don't see any sense of urgency. cheryl: one of the things about the defense sector is an economic side to the story, greg, and that's 800,000 civilian jobs that could be impacts. that is another unanswered question in the sequester debate. you say we have seven weeks, which we do. i mean, is that going to be important to somebody like senator hagel? will he take that into consideration or be pro-military? preserve spending within the military in >> i think he's the -- the last thing here anyone else at the pentagon wants to see is a sequester. it would cost a lot of jobs as the domestic side, the health care industry could lose job if there's a sees -- sequester on domestic spending. nobody wants that. in the last week or so, everybody just finally getting over the fiscal cliff debate, people are looking at the new fight, and i just don't sense that people are psyched up for itment i think people are tired.

they are not anxious, to get their teeth into another big debate so as usual, we're going to have a big crisis at the last moment in late february, early march. cheryl: why the senator? why do you think the president picked someone like him? >> i'm told both he and joe biden are personally friendly. hagel was a mentor of sorts when obama was in the senate. hagel and biden and families have been good friends for a couple decades. i think there was a comfort level there that was important. cheryl: well, greg, certainly the fight is going to be something else for us to watch, and we'll be covering it and will have you back. thank you, greg. >> okay, you bet. cheryl: well, many u.s. corporation are taking a hit from the flu. if you think that flu shot you got will protect you against it, dr. manny says, well, actually maybe not. the medical advice here on the show, and, also this, obamacare gone to the dogs. why your pet's next visit to the vet will cost you a lot more. as we do every day at this time,

look at the oil contract, 92.97, down 12 cents. it's not a big move. we'll be right back. ♪

[ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it.

>> well, markets now, we're coming up on 15 past the hour, and as every 15 minutes, looking

at stocks. broader markets for you right now. we have phil flynn in the trading pits of the cme. sandra smith at the data wizard previewing earnings news, tomorrow it is. we have tips on lynn energy, and we begin with nicole on the floor of the new york stock exchange where we are down 76 points despite financials looking positive. >> that's true. we see financials hitting 52-week highs. we talked about that a short time ago, whether it's news with citi group or lighter basal rules. look here. you have the dough and s&p dropping more than half a percent each. nasdaq lower. tech stocks under pressure. apple was selling off, but made its way back. what was interesting is intel and hp were trying to hold on there. i wanted to look, though, at lowe's. we talk about the housing recovery that we've seen. we've seen home builders doing

well. here's a look at lows -- lowe's today that was downgraded from a whole, but i have to tell you, looking at them comparatively, lowe's and home depot, the better of the two,46% over 52-week lows over 35% over the same time. we have seen low lowe's the underperformer. it's down 3%. last the latest here. phil flynn, what's going on in chicago? phil? >> trying to keep the rally going in the oil market, but they are failing now, down slightly. probably because there's a big crude oil build after last week's big draw down, we probably will see crude oil rebound big time this week because of concerns last week of year end tax considerations. we drew down the supplies. a market that is higher in the petroleum complex now is rbop

gasoline futures up 25 cents. there's word at the flairing incident at the refinery in new jersey near the new york harbor. that's getting the cash prices upright now giving the market support despite the fact supplies are at the highest level since 1993. throw it to sandra. she has wind energy for us. back to you. >> thanks, phil. it's the big financials. there is a little bit of steam in the financials considering. there's high expectations for fourth quarter results; however, look at wells fargo shares, down a full percent ahead of earnings coming out friday morning. alcoa kicks it off tomorrow as far as the earning season, but wells fargo is down 1.2% if you watch the stock over the past year, up over a couple bucks, but a steady rise. expectations for 89 cents a share, up 18% from its year ago earnings. a considerable improvement

there. if you are watching earnings friday, keep in mind it is only missed expectations one out of the past ten quarters. it's been impressive as far as results. revenues expected to come in at 21.3 billion dollars up 3% from a year ago. expectations very high right now for the financials. cheryl? cheryl: wells fargo, huge provider of mortgages on the west coast. thanks to all of you. let's keep making money though. it is time to make money with charles payne who is looking at how to make profits in oil and gas. lynn energy? you talked about these guys. >> i have. it's one of these plays that got hot the last few years. the company keeps buying other energy. it's interesting that phil talked about a big rebound in oil this week. it's an oil and gas play, making 54 transactions, $10 # billion worth. they have producing wells, and they distribute the income from them to shareholders. a lot of people were worried

about the sort of master limited partnerships because of the tax debate with respect to the fiscal cliff. feels like that's gone away. stock gaining momentum, and, also i love today's volume, the action on it. last time they reported them, it was up 51%. that's not all organic. they make a lot of acquisitions. a 7.8% dividend yield, though. very, very attractive even with the 23% tax rate of the highest earners. i like the way it looks. the stock is over sold. they made mistakes in the middle of the year. now, the company that's heavily hedged because it's only oil and gas -- cheryl: can be a negative. >> sometimes. it bag fired earlier in the middle of last year. cheryl: mlp is the great thing to bring up with energy. we had that before we knew the fiscal cliff, is there are tax advantages with mlps. >> there are. it might be that people can still seek them out. in other words, if you tax dividends at 43%, it doesn't

matter what the dividends are, but you are seeing the voteup coming. i like the risk reward here, stocks from the double bond, and anyone interested, take a look. cheryl: oil and gas prices jumping in 2013, as a positive s well. >> absolutely. cheryl: thank you very much. >> you got it. >> what a difference a decade makes. demand for pilots incredibly high. there's a shortage of pilots, but why? we'll talk about that. speaking of flying high, jeff flock is in corn country where corn is as high as an elephant's eye. corn prices that is. >> ha-ha! i'm standing, cheryl, in front of corn bins packed to the gills. why, then, are we importing potentially more foreign corn than ever in history? i will be back with the anxious to that question. may have something to do with the miscall cliff. stay tuned. ♪

>> at 23 minutes past the hour,

i'm lauren green with the fox news minute. the supreme court announced they will hear two gay marriage cases. california's proposition 8 on same-sex marriage will be heard march 26. the defensive marriage act will be heard on march 27 #th. new violence in syria after assad's declaration he will not step down. he announced that only he would dictate the end of syria's civil war. the 21-month conflict costing more than 60,000 lives. abbas renaming the organization the state of pal palestine. it comes a month after the united nations voted to upgrade the palestinian authority to a non-member observer state. palestinian passports, identifications, and other doesn'ts are issued using the new state of palestine name. those are the headlines. back to you, cheryl. cheryl: lawn greene, thank you very much for the news channel. appreciate it. >> sure. cheryl: world's most expensive corn is here in the united

states. now, our exports hit historic lows as countries look elsewhere for cheaper corn. jeff flock live from maple hurst farms in rochelle, illinois. hi, jeff. >> hey, cheryl. prices for corn still high. this is one of the reasons why is the drought. you don't see snow cover out there, do you? well, no, there's not been any moisture. look on the ground here. tell you, that's all there is. we've had some snow, very little snow, very little moisture. a lot of drought fears, but, also, that demand for ethanol not fiscal cliff compromise, it was also a break for ethanol producers. again, that's helpful of the corn producers, but the prices are going to go nuts. cheryl: they will. >> never been this high this time of the year? >> right. it's the looming drought, anymore moisture in the upcoming fall. >> you're worried about the

drought. walk with me to the bins because if you turn around and look at the bins, they are packed with corn. the drought was not as bad last year in terms of harvest, cheryl, but producers importing from brazil and argentina with a good growing year. >> they have very good weather right now for the crops. >> those prices are depressed so producers, you know, pork producers, poultry producers in the u.s., cheryl, now importing foreign corn over the american corn because of the price. maybe not a good time to be giving a break to the ethanol producers that chew up a lot of corn. cheryl: good point. the industry's got to do changing this year especially. jeff, thank you for the live report. well, if you are looking for work, here is a high flying job opportunity for you. airlines may see a pilot shortage as soon as this year. it comes as thousands of pilots start to retire, and new rules

requires extra training and rest kick in. if a shortage occurs, some analysts say large airlines would likely scoop up available candidates that would lead to regional carriers operating half of the scheduled flights scrambling to find more pilots. the controversy over the oil producing method, fracking, featured at the box office this weekend in a movie called "promise land," and we'll look at the latest environmental study of fracking, and chances are you are doing extra work in your office today. widespread flu across the country. what you can do to avoid getting the nasty flu coming up. going to break, though, look at the winners over on the s&p 500. windstream, micron, hairmin and more. -- harmin and more. we'll be right back. ♪

>> announcer: you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn youlife upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just o little piece of information and they can openogus accounts, stealing your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock to relentlessly protect what matters most... [beeping...] helping stop crooks before your identity is attacked. and now you can have the most comprehensive identity theft protection available today... lifelock ultimate. so for protection you just can't get anywhere else, get lifelock ultimate. >> i didn't know how serious identity theft was until i lost my credit and eventually i lost my home. >> announcer: credit monitoring is not enough, because it tells you after the fact, sometimes as mh as 30 days later. with lifelock, as soon as our network spots a threat to your identity, you'll get a proactive

risk alert, protecting you before you become a victim. >> identity theft was a huge, huge problem for me and it's gone away because of lifelock. >> announcer: while no one can stop all identity theft, if criminals do steal your information, lifelock will help fix it, with our $1 million service guarantee. don't wait until you become the next victim. you have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock now to get two full months of identity theft otection risk free. that's right, 60 days risk-free. use promo code: gethelp. satisfied, notify lifelock and you won't pay a cent. order now and also get this shredder to keep your documents out of the wrong hands-- a $29 dollar value, free. get protected now. call the number on your screen or go to lifelock.com to try lifelock protection risk free for a full 60 days. use promo code: gethelp. plus get this document shredder free-- but only if you act right now. call the number on your screen

now! cheryl: 30 minutes past the hour. stocks now and every 15 minutes. what is going on? nicole: we are pulling back. you see a little bit of nervousness here in the market ahead of earnings season. let's talk about something else that is moving individual louvers. that is analyst upgrades and downgrades. amazon is a winner. it is up to .5%. bernstein pulling back on yahoo!. it is down. that is one that is pulling

back. apple is the most interesting of all. the price target is now 740. it certainly has some upside potential. despite all of the downloads we have talked about, half of those in 2012, that is some good news. it is down 1%. cheryl: thank you very much. it will be an interesting afternoon for the markets. the promised land. it is a movie about the oil fracking controversy in america. it came in tenth place. the topic of fracking remains in the spotlight. getting praise from both the energy industry and environmentalists. joining me now chris faulkner. reviews of the actual filmmaking were fairly negative.

>> sure. cheryl: we will not get the full study until 2014. environmentalists and hollywood are now going after you. >> they continue to be transparent. continue having conversations. let them know what we are doing and how we are protecting the groundwater. how the process works. i think we are making headway. cheryl: what we saw in june june 2012, production high. we are seeing booties predict that oil and that gases will be building. if the epa comes out with one piece of water contamination, you will be hit with this pr

nightmare. >> regulation will occur and add cost to the old process. cheryl: are you worried about that? >> no. we have signs on our side. we have the evidence and proof that contamination is not occurring. there was no action necessary. i would hope that the study will be the last piece that we need. the process is safe. the way to use fracking and embrace the technology, not how do we stop the whole thing, but how do we make sure we are doing it safe. cheryl: critics will say that there is no way, they will not

address the chances that water could be contaminated by the fracking process. critics will say we have cows dying in texas. look at what has happened in this farm in oklahoma. people are getting cancer. what you say to that. >> it will not go away when the report comes out in 2014. the critics will say that the epa got it wrong. there really is no winning the battle. i do not think it will when. those of the battles we will have to fight. cheryl: 95% is fracking. it is great to see you and talk about this topic. thank you very much. we want to give you an update on that shell oil rig that is grounded off the coast of alaska. we showed you these pictures last week.

teams at this point are trying to assess the condition of it. crews attaching the main line earlier today. the drilling rig ran its ground while a vicious storm happened on new year's eve. president obama planning another party failed celebration. ahead, why he may have trouble paying for it. plus, why your next visit to the vet will cost more. this has to do with obamacare. take a look at the ten year treasury. the local ♪

[ cows moo ] [ sizzling ] more rain... [ thunder rumbles ] ♪ [ male announcer ] when the world moves... futures move first. learn futures from experienced pros with dedicated chats and daily live webinars. and trade with papermoney to test-drive the market. ♪ all on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questio. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

double. >> im lori rothman with your fox fox business three. it has been a tough day for wall street. businesses are feeling jolly over the holiday. hiring this holiday season hit a six year high despite your and uncertainty. retailers boosted their payrolls more than 10% from last year. hbo exclusive for another ten years. the deal is keeping universal away from streaming movie providers like netflix. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper.

the local

cheryl: from people two puppies. president obama's affordable care act introducing increased prices on some imaginary care. you warned about this last year. these devices that are used in your vet clinics will be, the costs will go up for consumers. >> it seems that it is. we are fortunate that we now offer the same health care for pets. the challenge is almost all of the equipment that we use is the same equipment that is used on people. our goal is to provide the

services at a cost affordable basis. unfortunately, this will drive the cost out. cheryl: you have a range of clinics across 30 states. this will impact your consumers. you will be raising prices then? >> we will work really hard not to. it remains to be seen how much the suppliers of these pieces of equipment will raise our prices. the likelihood is as the cost goes up, it causes a cost to the consumer to go out. cheryl: you are using many of

these devices and that hospitals. >> that would be great. i would hope that that is being done. the american association is aware of the situation. the challenge is, pets are part of the family. we would not want to use a substandard piece of equipment or supplies on pets just as you would not want it to be used on your family member. therefore, we use the same equipment that is used in human hospitals. cheryl: from 2008 to 2011, you practically doubled revenues. you get that servicing animals in the middle of a recession. how did that happen? >> completely a testimony to how important pets are in people's

lives. they are part of our family. the desire for care has driven this growth. the technique and knowledge and know-how to provide it. cheryl: thank you for coming in. we are two weeks away from president obama's inauguration. it looks like some of the 2009 thrill is gone. the event is expected to draw much smaller crowds this year. adam shapiro joining us now. >> just a few companies actually acknowledged this. in 2009, the obama administration for big corporate donations, this time around, unlimited donations. at&t, microsoft, they have

contributed. neither of them will disclose how much they have donated. in 2009, you could figure out who donated, where they worked and how much. steve ballmer and his wife each donated $50,000. of course, he is the ceo of microsoft. there are ten people that donated back in 2009. totaling about $250,000 in donations. this time around, all you get is a name. it is making it difficult to figure out where this money is coming from. we would encourage them, them being the administration and the committee for the inauguration, to be more forthcoming prior to the inauguration. by law, 90 days after the

inauguration, they have to disclose who donated, how much money they donated and where it all came from. cheryl: that is transparency. adam shapiro, thank you very much. exactly quarter till right now. every 15 minutes stocks now. d getting a new annual high. nicole: we have been watching delta very closely. the transportation index is actually lower. take a look at delta. only a penny. it did hit a new 52 week high. today, a winner. really bucking the trend. let's take a look at the major market averages. the market is under some pressure here.

the s&p 500, a loss of over a half of 1%. cheryl: thank you very much. we will see you at the top of the hour. the walt disney company they be making some changes that could affect the city of los angeles. your west coast minute is coming up. the flu sweeping through the workplace. why the flu shot, that you got probably is not working very well. first, take a look at some of the winners over on the nasdaq. we have some big names moving. we will be right back. ♪ from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.?

at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. ro price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. i tell them dentures are very different to real teeth. they're about 10 times softer anmay have surface pores where bacteria can grow and multiply. polident is specifically designed to clean dentures daily. its unique micro-clean formula kills 99.9% of odor causing bacteria and helps dissolve stains, cleaning in a better way than brushing with tohpaste. that's why i recommend using polident. [ male announcer ] polident. cleaner, fresher, brighter every day.

cheryl: disney company may be ready to implement layoffs. according to reports the studio has been changing its focus with fewer film productions. netflix and warner bros. signing a new light sensing deal that will give netflix access to warner bros. shows. 30 million customers will be able to watch previous episodes. it is where the west will be one when it comes to gadgets. kicking off today in las vegas. fox business will feature the

best and the coolest projects products from there tomorrow. there will be lots of interviews coming up tomorrow and wednesday. that is your west coast minute. workplace productivity is down. you can blame the flu. many of our regular viewers may know this. dennis dennis kneale is home along with thousands of americans because he has the flu. forty-one states are reporting severe cases of the flu. if you think that the flu shot that you got will protect you, think again. doctor manny alvarez joins me now on that. >> it will save you. we want everyone to get the flu shot. that is the whole message. 60% of the time it works.

in particular, the flu shot this year has met the criteria for being a good batch. there is a lot of people, you know, getting the flu despite the fact that they got the flu shot. sometimes they do not get the complete immune response. there is still plenty of time to get the flu shot. this will probably be one of the worst of record. employees are not coming into work. they are either staying home for themselves or they are staying home for their children. >> absolutely. for a lot of companies, they give free flu shots. nobody takes advantage of that. a lot of the workers come in sick and may affect other workers. that is a big no-no for me.

the best thing you can do is stay home. remember, a lot of times, you are very infectious. let's say you have a little sniffle, you are already infectious. you can really call upon somebody and then you can get the whole foreplay sick. therefore, the productivity goes down. it is very important to be proactive. that is why i am proactive when the flu shots are available. take advantage of it. if you are getting sick, again, try to isolate that worker. stay home for a couple of days. everyone does different kinds of jobs to match up. otherwise, you will have an empty office. we already have 20,000 reported

cases. there are still thousands of unreported cases. cheryl: there have been some deaths from this flu strain. and not just from the elderly. >> right now, the flu is. problematic in young kids. this is why we tell mom to get the vaccine for their children. there are a lot of myth about the flu shot. rain that women in particular. i deliver babies for a living. again, many of these women need to be hospitalized because they get very ill. elderly patients above the age of 65. cheryl: doctor manny, i want you to stay here with me. many of you out there have a new year's resolution to lose

weight. a gym with locations in chicago, vegas and dallas is one of the most exclusive health clubs out there. they have very strict requirements. you must be 50 pounds or more overweight to be a member there. the gym does not have errors inside. the windows are followed so the clientele feels more comfortable. >> i love it. that people like me are very ashamed to go to the gym. i'm not going to the gym with you. i want privacy. do not look at me. i love it. cheryl: you like the business concept of it. >> i think it is great. cheryl: doctor manny, thank you very much. we are getting some breaking

news. i want to show you a live look at the white house right now. we will keep an eye on the market for you. at this point, they are losing ground. melissa and lori will take you through another hour of market now. ♪